Lung cancer is a significant public health issue. The majority of tumors are detected at an advanced stage when treatment options are limited and patients require systemic therapy. Even patients with resectable, early stage lung cancer have an almost 50% chance of developing recurrence and at some point need adjuvant treatment. Over the past several years new therapies targeting specific pathways have been introduced and, in select individuals, these produce an initial response. However, almost all patients develop resistance, which is most likely due to tumor heterogeneity and clonal evolution.
While activation of the humoral response against malignant cells has been investigated, humoral immunity per se has not been very well exploited for cancer therapy. Circulating antibodies against over 100 different tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) have been described, but very few are associated with tumor stage or outcome. Certain host antibodies may have the potential for anti-tumor activity, but this ability has not been fully realized for a number of possible reasons, including low concentration or low affinity of antibodies, or ineffective activation of B lymphocytes. There is a clear need for a greater number and wider variety of effective therapies.